Jerry Lewis, The Ladies Man

It's kind of amazing what you can find while sick at home during a rainy Friday morning in L.A. I used to be part of that snobby set that thought Jerry Lewis wasn't funny. (Odd, considering I took French lessons for five years.) But I saw him perform in Vegas during his "comeback" (was it '99? 2000?) and while I can't say it was the funniest show I'd ever seen it was definitely the most surreal. At times he was hilarious, other times painfully not so and then others so full of rage that you could feel the audience gasp like one singularly abused child worried if Daddy was going to really hit us. Then he'd catch himself, toss off a one liner and we'd all breathe a collective sigh of relief as he went on with the show.

But the one thing that I will never forget was the way he walked onto the stage. I've never seen anyone walk with that sense of entitlement before. Never. Not in Hollywood. Not in Washington. Not in the Conde Nast Building. It was as if there were a steel rod holding him in place and he skated along the stage in his shiny patent leather loafers (complimenting his impeccable tux) while blithefully puffing on a cigarrette in that way only people in the '50s could do. My cohorts and I sat in amazement with these bizarre half-smiling, half-shocked expressions on our faces. My jaw muscles hurt for days after that. It was one unforgettable experience. Plus, I've never seen this clip (above). Good stuff. I bet there's a lot more to be unearthed.

I wish David Cross and Co. could perform their rendition of the ill-fated Lewis flick The Day the Clown Cried. I was lucky enough to see it in the late '90s (I think it was) in what used to be Pedro's in Los Feliz. Toby Huss played Jerry in all his many manifestations and it was one of the craziest, funniest things I've ever seen in my life. The next time they tried to perform it Jerry Lewis' lawyers sent a Cease & Desist and that was the end of that.

BTW, you can catch Toby Huss doing his Rudy Casoni Christmas Show next Wednesday, December 5 at The Steve Allen Theater. It's more Sinatra than Lewis but equally wacked. Go! You won't be disappointed.